The small, cylindrical Play:1speaker from Sonos is a play to convert users of Bluetooth speakers to a higher grade of speaker.

The Play:1 (out this week, $199) is a new wireless speaker that can be used on its own or integrated into a larger Sonos home setup. About the size of a coffee can – 6.4-inches tall and 4.7 inches wide – the Play: 1 is a water-resistant speaker that Sonos hopes might be an entry-level purchase that could attract new customers.

"If you're just coming out of school, getting your first job and have a one-bedroom apartment this is a perfect way to start," says Sonos CEO John McFarlane, who demonstrated the new speaker for USA TODAY last week at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Those who rely on the growing selection of wireless Bluetooth speakers for sound will hear an upgrade with the Play:1, he said. "There isn't anything that approaches us."

Sonos' designs and engineers its speakers and products to deliver full-frequency stereo and surround sound that rivals wired stereo systems. The new Play:1 speaker can be used as a single speaker or as a pair to deliver stereo – apartment owners can add a subwoofer to that for house parties, McFarlane says. Those with a Playbar soundbar can also add two Play:1s as rear surround speakers.

In development for three years, the Play:1 was designed "to fit into as many places as possible," he said. "It's a fully-sealed design and can go in a bathroom or kitchen. It's fine with humidity. It can actually sit outside, it wouldn't be great if you left it out in the rain, but it would survive. It's not water-proof, but it's water-resistant."

The Sonos Play:1 speaker has two built-in amps, a custom-designed mid-woofer and tweeter to deliver deep, rich sound.(Photo: Sonos)

A quick test drive of the speakers at home revealed that they can flesh out the soundscape with additional audience sound and music when used as surround speakers with a Playbar during NBC's The Voice. As a single speaker, the Play:1 filled a living room with iTunes music stored on an iPad and iPhone.

A Sonos app for iOS and Android devices lets you stream music from your devices -- iTunes tracks, for instance, or streaming music from Amazon Cloud Player, Pandora, Spotify, MOG and others -- to Sonos speakers throughout the home. That approach gives users more ways to listen to the growing library of music on Net services, McFarlane says. "Having access to all the music ever made is a wonderful thing and I don't really care about owning it," he said, "but I care about accessing it."

And a new feature on the speaker -- and other Sonos products -- lets you skip tracks by tapping the Mute button twice, rather than accessing the app.

That the Play:1 is the lowest-priced speaker so far from Sonos is no accident. "It's a no-regrets purchase right when the (music) streaming services are literally exploding in our faces," McFarlane said.

Among the more than 3,000 retailers where you can find the new Play:1 and other Sonos products are Target stores, which will have special kiosks displaying the speaker.

Several tech sites have sung the praises of the new speaker including Mashable, which noted that "one of the best things about Sonos' line of speakers is that you can combine them to create the optimal sound setup for your space."